New Delhi: India’s singles challenge at the BWF World Championships ended with PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty suffering contrasting defeats against higher-seeded opponents in the pre-quarterfinals at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.
With the singles campaign over, India’s title hopes now rest on its two remaining doubles pairs as the men’s defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and women’s pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand won their matches.
The crowd puller, however, was two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, who fought until the very end before going down 11-21, 21-15, 17-21 to China’s third seed Wang Zhiyi in a gripping contest.
The defeat ended Sindhu’s perfect record against Chinese opponents at the Worlds as the five-time medallist had won all eight of her previous meetings against the East Asians.
The high-octane clash, however, wasn’t without any controversy, which came towards the fag end of the match. With the scores locked at 17-17 in the decider, the 26-year-old Chinese took two medical timeouts after appearing to struggle with cramps following a battle of rallies. The stoppages disrupted the rhythm of the contest and left the 31-year-old with questions about the timing of the injury concerns.
“Maybe that was her tactics and her way of doing it. But I should have converted that into a win. I think I should have been a little more patient,” said Sindhu after the match.
Wang, however, insisted there was nothing dubious about the stoppages, saying the problem was genuine and that she had little choice but to seek medical attention.
The match had begun with Wang dictating the longer exchanges while Sindhu struggled to settle into the conditions and made a number of errors at the net, allowing the Chinese to establish control.
The Indian changed her approach in the second game, tightened her play around the net and moved Wang from corner to corner. A more controlled and attacking Sindhu gradually turned the tide to force a decider.
The third game became a battle of attrition, with neither player able to establish a decisive advantage for long. Sindhu had her moments but Wang grew increasingly comfortable as the rallies stretched. A late error at the net following the stoppages proved costly as the Chinese pulled away to end Sindhu’s campaign.
Ayush, meanwhile, could not reproduce the aggression that helped him stun world No. 1 Shi Yuqi in the opening round. The Mangaluru youngster struggled to unsettle a quick-footed Alwi Farhan of Indonesia, who produced a technically assured display to win 21-19, 21-11 in 45 minutes.
Alwi’s ability to disguise his overhead strokes and generate steep attacking angles kept Ayush under pressure despite the Indian trying to slow the pace and looking for openings at the net. Ayush was unable to consistently turn those exchanges into an advantage as he was unable to unleash the attacking game that had carried him past Shi.
Defending champions Satwiksairaj and Chirag survived a stern challenge from Malaysia’s Yap Roy King and Junaidi Arif, winning 21-23, 21-19, 21-17 in a nail-biting clash that lifted the crowd, who were reeling with the singles defeat.
Earlier, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand produced one of India’s most impressive results of the day, defeating seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan 21-16, 21-12.
Returning from a two-and-a-half-month injury layoff, the Indians countered Japan’s patient drops and lifts with a faster attacking game. After the opening game remained level until 16-16, Treesa and Gayatri finished strongly with five straight points. They carried that momentum into the second game to complete a convincing victory and book their place in the quarterfinals.
Results: India matches only: Prefix denotes seeding: Round of 32: Men: Singles: Ayush Shetty (Ind) lt to 11-Alwi Farhan (Ina) 21-19, 21-11.
Doubles: 5-Chirag Shetty / Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (Ind) vs Yap Roy King / Junaidi Arif (Mal) 21-23, 21-19, 21-17.
Women: Singles: 9-PV Sindhu (Ind) lt to 3-Wang Zhiyi (Chn) 11-21, 21-15, 17-21.
Doubles: Treesa Jolly / Gayatri Gopichand (Ind) bt 7-Rin Iwanaga / Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) 21-16, 21-12.
Mixed: 15-Dhruv Kapila/ Tanisha Crasto (Ind) lt to 6-Guo Xinwa / Chen Fanghui 16-21, 5-21.